General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra participates in an Economic Club of Washington discussion on “the auto industry's transformation to an all-electric future, the path to autonomous vehicles, and recent negotiations with the U.S. workforce.” GM” in Washington, USA, December 13, 2023.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
DETROIT – General Motors CEO and President Mary Barra said Thursday that she has no plans to retire anytime soon as she tries to ensure the company's transformation is on “a good path.”
Barra, who is the longest-serving CEO outside of the company's founder, has been asked about retirement for several years. The questions have grown as executives from competitors have come and gone under Barra's more than 10-year tenure at the helm of GM.
“I'm having a lot of fun and I want to make sure our transformation is on the right track,” he said during a fireside chat at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club. “I'm young and healthy, I have a supportive family, so I don't think I'll be going anywhere anytime soon.”
Many potential successors within GM have come and gone during Barra's tenure. Several left the company to pursue other opportunities, while others retired or left the company for unspecified reasons.
Barra reiterated that he works for pleasure on the GM board of directors and that he continues to have fun. He said he is going through “the most exciting time” for the auto industry during his career.
GM, like other automakers, is investing billions of dollars in all-electric vehicles, even though consumer adoption is slower than many expected just a couple of years ago.
The Detroit automaker is also trying to relaunch its Cruise autonomous vehicle business after it ceased public operations following an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi.
Cruises and electric vehicles, along with software-defined vehicles and services, have been among the areas of greatest growth potential under Barra, who became CEO in January 2014.
